Planning

This was one shot where I planned out everything on paper first before ever touching a camera. I had been reading an article on snails and thought it odd that a night time creature should so often be pictured during the day. I therefore set out to produce a picture that accurately captured this behaviour as well as the human relationship with snails. It took me several attempts to get this picture. I even started keeping snails in a tank in my kitchen in order to have a ready supply of subjects.

Equipment

Canon 5D MKii, Canon 8-15mm fisheye, Canon macro twin lite (with home made diffusers and blue gels) torch

Fisheye lens with macro twin lite and diffusers

The shoot

Checking the forecast I guessed we would have a nice clear evening. I set everything up during the day. I had my camera in place, the subject ready and waiting. I also turned on all of the lights in the house for them to warm up. I then sat and waited for dusk. The trick to creating the impression of night time is working at dusk. That way you get a nice deep blue to the sky and not black. To complete the affect I added blue gels to my flash. This gives the scene a much more pleasing, natural look. The snail in not so obviously lit by the flash. The final touch was to include my father in the shot directing a torch towards the camera. This added a much needed human element and back-story to the image. It also acts as a visually interesting addition to an otherwise straight forward shot.